Artemisia dubia Wall. ex Bess.

This species is easily distinguished from the closely related taxa by the leaves with many white small dots on the upper surface.

Perennial, with several, erect, 1-1.8 m tall, sulcate, purpureus, glabrescent, stout stems from woody, upright rootstock. Leaves shortly petiolate to almost sessile, oblong-elliptic to broadly ovate, 8-12 x 6-9 cm, green and white dotted above along with or without sparse T-shaped hairs, greyish-green arachnoid hairy beneath to almost glabrous, bipinnatisect, primary segments elliptic-lanceolate, 3-4.5 x 1.5-2.5 cm, acute-mucronate; secondary segments ± elliptic-lanceolate, 1-1.5 x 2.5-4.5 mm, acute or ± obtuse, revolute; uppermost leaves linear-lanceolate, with or without basal auricles. Capitula numerous, heterogamous, oblong-campanulate, 3-3.5 x c. 2 mm, ± approximate, almost sessile, in a narrow to broad, 15-30 x 10-20 cm panicle with ascending to ± patent (upper), up to 25 x 2-3 cm primary branches. Involucre 4-seriate, phyllaries laxly imbricate, all sparsely arachnoid hairy outside, outermost narrowly ovate, c. 1.25 x 0.75 mm, green, acute, hairy; median elliptic to narrowly obovate, c. 2.25-3 x 1.25 mm, narrowly scarious on margins with purplish tinge; innermost narrowly obovate, c. 2.5 x 1 mm, obtuse, widely scarious hyaline on margins and apex. Receptacle ± flat, glabrous. Florets 16-20, purplish, all fertile; marginal florets 6-8, with c. 1 mm long, basally broadened, bidentate, glandulose corolla tube and long exserted style branches; disc-florets 10-12, with c. 1.75 mm long, 5-toothed, glandulose, apically very sparsely hairy corolla tube. Cypselas brown, c. 1.25-1.5 mm long, with terminal corolliform scar.

Himalaya, China, Korea, Japan.

Distribution: Pakistan, Northern India, China, Xizang and Nepal.

1200-3400 m

Fl. Per.: August-October.

A. vulgaris non L.: C. B. Clarke in Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 3: 325. 1882 pro parte; A. subdigitata Mattf. in Fedde, Rep. Sp. Nov. 22: 243. 1926 pro parte.